The World’s Economic Myths Are Hitting Their Limits Authored by Gail Tverberg via Our Finite World blog, There are many myths about energy and the economy. In this post I explore the situation surrounding some of these myths. My analysis strongly suggests that the transition to a new Green Economy is not progressing as well as hoped. Green energy planners have missed the point that our physics-based economy favors low-cost […]

Rep. Greene: Congress Members Who Back Ukraine Aid Should Join Kiev’s Military Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute, Republican Rep. Majorie Taylor-Greene has proposed an amendment requiring lawmakers who vote in favor of the $60 billion Ukrainian aid bill to join Ukraine’s military. Taylor-Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) have pledged to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from his post if he allows […]

Living On Uneasy Street Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, It’s nice to anticipate sunny weather, but it’s a good idea to carry an umbrella just in case the forecasts prove overly optimistic. Yes, the market will rally if World War III didn’t start last night. The market will also rally if World War III does start, because the Federal Reserve will surely lower interest rates. We chuckle uneasily at gallows humor […]

Man Who Self-Immolated Near Trump Trial Was Anti-Fascist, Warned Of “World Coup” And Wanted To Start “F*cking Revolution” Update (1710ET): 37-year-old Max Azzarello has been identified as the man who set himself on fire near the NYC courthouse where Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial is taking place. He is in critical condition in a burn unit, police said Friday. Before setting himself on fire, Azzarello dropped a stack of […]

Watch Live: Countdown To The Most Important ‘Halving’ In Bitcoin History We’ve previewed the shit out of this ‘halving’ (here, here, here, and here most recently) and now it’s here. As Bitcoin Magazine notes, this halving event – projected to occur within the next few hours – will occur as Bitcoin reaches block 840,000, marking the point at which its relative supply issuance will drop below that of gold for the first time. […]

US Domestic Bank Deposits Drop For Second Straight Week On the heels of a major deposit outflow the week before, and a huge (record) money-market fund outflow last week, all eyes are back on the banks again on Friday evening to see if this ‘flight’ continues as Tax-Day drags cash away from its comfy-5%-earnings-spots. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, total US bank deposits declined for the second straight week (though only $2.4BN) […]

Down With Big Brother: Warrantless Surveillance Makes A Mockery Of The Constitution Authored by John and Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference … The Thought Police would get him just the same … the arrests invariably happened at night … In the vast majority of cases there was no trial, no report of the arrest. […]

Tech Wrecks As FedSpeak F**ks FOMO-Followers; Gold Hits New Record High Well, that escalated quickly… In a week characterized by data supporting ‘no landing’ from a growth perspective and disappointment from a disinflation perspective… Source: Bloomberg This was reinforced by FedSpeak that was without exception – hawkish! As they suddenly realized that all that ‘pivot’ optimism did nothing but dramatically ease financial […]

Climate Worries Are Non-Credible, Luxury Beliefs That Harm Civilization Itself Authored by Joakim Book via The Mises Institute, I live in a small village at the edge of lands surrounded by very harsh nature. Those who occupied these valleys in ages past lived ruthlessly dangerous lives, where starvation was a constant worry, the sea just as often nurtured as it took away, and the winters were long and perilous. Nowadays, while […]

Nike “Permanently” Laying Off 740 Employees At World Headquarters US athletic footwear and apparel company Nike announced late in the cash session on Friday that it is undergoing a restructuring effort to trim costs at its World Headquarters (WHQ) located in Beaverton, Oregon.  Michele Adams, VP of People Solutions at Nike, might be the most hated person at the company this afternoon. In a letter to staff, she wrote that […]

How Big Tech Is Consuming America’s Electricity And Water Authored by Kevin Stocklin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), As federal net-zero policies attempt to shift transportation, heating, and other essentials onto the electric grid, one of the hottest growth sectors of America’s economy is poised to increase electricity demand exponentially, further straining an energy infrastructure that is being pushed into the red. […]

Cocoa Hyperinflation Accelerates As Grindings Show No Demand Destruction  Cocoa hyperinflation is insane. The latest data from the futures market shows that cocoa prices in New York surged above the $12,000 per ton level today as the pace of processing in factories remains robust. This indicates that demand destruction has yet to emerge despite the massive multi-month parabolic price surge.  Cocoa futures surged 18% in the […]

A Chart To Think About Authored by Peter Tchir via Academy Securities, For all the “big tech”, momentum, hype; for all the “all-time highs”; this has not been a great year for tech… Based on closing prices, the only day since January 19th, that you could have bought the Nasdaq 100 index and be profitable, is January 31st (and unless I type quickly, that might not even be true). Had you came into the year long the […]

Freedom Caucus Posts Rotating Guard To Block Sneaky Leadership Moves In a sign of growing discord among House Republicans, members of the Freedom Caucus are taking turns monitoring the House floor to prevent the GOP leadership from using sneaky procedural tactics to sap the power of increasingly rebellious conservatives.   Specifically, they’re wary that party leaders and their allies will, without prior announcement, bring […]

Watch: Migrants Complain That New Yorkers Don’t Learn African Languages Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, A hearing held earlier this week in New York by the Council’s immigration and hospital committees saw black migrants who have arrived in the city airing their grievances about public services they have been provided, including food and accommodation, with one woman even complaining that New Yorkers won’t learn […]

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Bitcoin Halvings & BTC Price Every four years, the Bitcoin community celebrates the Bitcoin halving. Many BTC market analysts view this as a quadrennial milestone event due to its historically bullish impact on the cryptocurrency market as a whole. A key component of Bitcoin’s design is its periodic halving, which ensures the cryptocurrency’s scarcity and acts as a buffer against […]

Tesla Voluntarily Recalls Cybertruck To Fix “Trapped Pedal”  Tesla announced a voluntary recall of nearly all 4,000 Cybertrucks produced between November 15 and April 4 due to faulty accelerator pedals that can dislodge, stick, and unintentionally accelerate, increasing the risk of a crash.  “On affected vehicles, when high force is applied to the pad on the accelerator pedal, the pad may dislodge, which may cause the pedal […]

Watch: Paul, Hawley Torch Mayorkas To His Face On Laken Riley’s Killer Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news, During a hearing Thursday, Senators Rand Paul and Josh Hawley grilled Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas concerning the open border and the murder of Laken Riley. Mayorkas appeared very uncomfortable as Paul took him to task over the full scale invasion he has overseen at the border. “You refuse to […]

A Very Ugly Week For The Nasdaq, A Terrible Week For Semiconductors It’s been a very ugly week for momentum names, but since these days that really means AI and/or mega tech, we can just saw this has been a very ugly week for the Nasdaq. And sure enough, with the QQQs down 0.4%, the Nasdaq is now pacing for its worst week in over a year – and is down 6 of the past 7 weeks… … on what Goldman trader Peter Callahan calls a […]

The Haven-Volatility Dog Has Not Yet Barked Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist, Implied volatility of traditional havens such as the Swiss franc and US Treasuries remains remarkably subdued despite the situation in the Middle East, even as the former has outperformed most other havens, including the dollar. However, vol is beginning to pick up, in a sign risks are beginning to be more fully priced in. Volatility […]

“Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth”: Only Hamas Wants Bigger War As Iran, Israel Signal Strikes ‘Done’ There has been no Iranian response against Israel for the overnight Israeli retaliation attack on the Islamic Republic. US officials have since confirmed that it was in fact an Israeli attack, yet all the while Iran’s leaders are trying desperately to downplay it, saying it inflicted no damage, and that several reported […]

Mysterious Iranian ‘Spy’ Ship Returns Home As Israel-Iran Conflict Worsens  A suspected Iranian spy ship that its own government calls an “intelligence and logistics” vessel returned home this week after a three-year mis, as well as more recently lingering near Yemen for months.  The Iranian ‘spy ship’ BEHSHAD (9167289), which had a hand in the Red Sea Crisis by assisting Houthis in launching attacks against commercial and naval […]

National Security Implications Of Baltimore Bridge Catastrophe Authored by Rob Maness via RealClearDefense, The Port of Baltimore is “closed until further notice” following the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragedy, sending several industries into disarray and jeopardizing national security. In 2023, the port handled a record amount of international cargo, ranked ninth for both dollar value and tonnage in the United States. Vital […]

French Police Arrest Suspected Suicide Bomber After Surrounding Iran Consulate In Paris Update(1049ET): The crisis at the Iranian consulate in Paris appears to be resolved, with a suspect under arrest and being investigated, according to France24: A Paris police official said the man was seen at about 11am local time (0900 GMT) entering the consulate, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and an explosive vest. The man later […]

AI Bubble Stumbles: First ASML, Now TSMC Downgrades 2024 Global Chip Outlook According to a first-quarter update on Wednesday from Dutch chip giant ASML – the world’s sole producer of equipment needed to make the most advanced chips – chip makers aren’t rushing to prepare for the next leg in the AI boom. This was confirmed on Friday when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. – the world’s largest contract chip maker […]